Take Me Home
by Becks Rylynn
Summary: AU, Lila Bray 'verse: An overzealous Trickster sends Dean, Sam and Ruby spiraling through a string of alternate universes. And it is NOT funny. Shut up.
1. Part One: Ensemble

_AN: I don't really know what to say about this story other than I am having so much fun writing it. As of right now, all of my other stories have been halted until I finish writing this one. It's that much fun. It was supposed to be an epically long oneshot (you've all heard that from me before, haven't you) but I had to break it up into parts because one particularly dark chapter (chapter three) needs more warnings than the other chapters._

_There are no major warnings for the first chapter other than it's AU and there's time travel involved._

* * *

><p><strong>Title: <strong>_Take Me Home  
><em>**Summary:** AU, Lila Bray 'verse: An overzealous Trickster sends Dean, Sam and Ruby spiraling through a string of alternate universes. And it is NOT funny. Shut up.  
><strong>Pairing:<strong> Dean/Ruby. With appearances by - and get ready for a big list here - Sam/Sarah, Sam/Jo, Sam/Jess, Bray/Alex, Dean/OFC, Katie/Jensen (yeah, I went there), minor Ruby/OMC, Mary/John, possibly some brief mentions of Jared/Genevieve, and I can't believe I'm about to say this but there is mention of some puppy love-ish/harmless onesided crush Dianna Agron/Jared.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Humor/Drama (with heaping helpings of romance, angst and family)  
><strong>Rating:<strong> T for some dark themes in later chapters and language. The rating might have to change due to the content in chapter three.  
><strong>Timeline:<strong> Alternate season six and multiple alternate universes.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> Blanket spoilers for entire series.  
><strong>Warnings:<strong> I'm going to do something new here and post individual warnings for each chapter. I'm mainly doing that because chapter three is a pretty dark chapter and needs some serious warnings but the rest is pretty lighthearted. One warning that could be used for the entire story as a whole is the warning that this story is slightly crackish.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything.

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><p><strong>Take Me Home<strong>

_Written by Becks Rylynn_

* * *

><p><strong>Part One <strong>

**Ensemble**

_let's grow old together_

* * *

><p>Everything begins in the future.<p>

Well, actually.

That's not technically correct. _Technically_, everything _really_ begins with a stupid Trickster who thinks he's funny but he's really not.

And then there is the future.

* * *

><p>Dean wakes up in a king sized bed to sunlight streaming in through flimsy white curtains and a voice screeching out an aggravated sounding, ''Mom!''<p>

At first he thinks nothing of it, but then he quickly realizes that the voice sounds much too mature to be his daughter's. Beside him, Ruby bolts upright, wild eyes darting around the room. He isn't sure if her strong reaction is because she automatically responds to the cry of _Mom! _because she is one or because she too realizes that the voice cannot possibly be Bray's.

He sits up slowly with a yawn, and then it all comes rushing back. _Trickster! _There was a Trickster! And...this isn't his room. His eyes widen and he swings his gaze to Ruby. For the first time, he notices subtle differences in her physical appearance. The voice down the hall is not the only thing that has mysteriously matured. She, however, seems to be oblivious to the changes, nodding and licking her lips as she looks around the room. ''Yeah, so...I kinda hate Tricksters.''

Yep. He's right there with her. Goddamn fuckers. They _so_ aren't as funny as they think they are.

He stands and glances around the room while Ruby drops her head into her hands and lets out a little huff of annoyance. This is most definitely not their bedroom. Their bedroom is small, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, there are toys scattered on the floor and their bed is too small because Bray has a nasty little habit - that they are currently in the process of trying to break - where she likes to crawl into bed with her parents in the middle of the night. _And_ she's a bed hog so usually one of her parents winds up on the floor and staying there until morning and _that_ is why Dean has the beginnings of back problems.

This bedroom, on the other hand, is large and in charge. It's roomy and neat and there are a hell of a lot of pictures on the dresser. Dean is not a fan of Tricksters at all but - wow, how would he go about getting himself a bedroom like this?

''Oh. _Oh!_''

He whirls around to face Ruby, who's holding a picture and staring down at it with wide eyes, hand over her mouth. He opens his mouth to ask her what's wrong, but she beats him to it by letting out another screech and yanking her hand away from her mouth. ''Dean!'' She waves her hand in front of his face. ''What is this?''

''Uh, your hand?''

She sighs heavily, looks at him like he's an idiot, points to the wedding band on her left ring finger and then grabs his hand, dropping it like it's on fire when she spots the matching ring on his finger. ''Dumbass,'' she grinds out through her teeth. ''I told you not to do that!''

He pinches the bridge of his nose. ''Do what?''

''Marry me!'' She squeaks out in offense. ''There's too much pressure on married couples.''

''Yes, Ruby,'' he sneers. ''That is what you've told me the pastfive times I have _pleaded _with you to marry me. Oh, and I don't think this is our universe so...calm yourself.''

She glares at him and pokes at his chest. Before she has the chance to berate him, another sharp cry of ''Mom!'' is reverberating throughout the house, bouncing off the walls. Except that this shriek is accompanied by footsteps and then the door is banging open. A teenage girl bursts into the room, blond hair flying in her face, blue eyes bright with frustration. Her eyes may be narrowed into slits and she might be shaking with anger but there is no mistaking who she is.

Parents know their children.

''...Bray?'' Ruby whispers out.

The teenaged version of their daughter doesn't seem to hear her mother as she turns on her father and thrusts an article of clothing at him. ''Look what he did!'' She stomps her foot dramatically. Dean is slowly beginning to move past both the _holy shit, we're in the future _and the _I'm gonna friggin' kill that trickster _stages and is making his way into the _my god, my daughter's a banshee _stage. ''Look what that little rodent did,'' Bray continues, hands balling into fists. ''He ruined my favourite shirt!''

There's a flurry of frenzied sounding footfalls and then a boy around ten or eleven races into the room. He looks a hell of a lot like Dean did when he was that age. It's almost frightening. ''I didn't do anything!'' He protests vehemently, shoving a finger in Bray's face. ''And you know it!''

''Oh, you did too!''

''No, I didn't!''

''Oh, really? Then how did this giant hole get here?''

''I don't know,'' the boy smirks. ''Maybe it got ripped when Alex took it off you in the back of your car last Saturday.''

Bray squeaks and her face reddens. ''That didn't - You don't...Ugh!''

The boy smiles smugly and crosses his arms.

Ruby presses her lips into a thin line and throws Dean a look. ''I don't think this is funny at all.''

...Dean's kind of still stuck on the Alex comment.

* * *

><p>''Okay, so.'' Bray looks at her mother and father expectantly and re-opens the scrapbook in front of her. ''Let's have a refresher course, shall we? Your son's name is Connor Sam Winchester. He's eleven years old. He plays soccer, hockey and baseball. He used to play basketball until he got kicked off of the team for nailing a dude in the head with a ball.''<p>

Dean lets out a short bark of laughter, only deterred by the look Ruby gives him. ''That's not funny, Dean.''

''If it helps,'' Bray chimes in. ''He was defending me.'' She flips to another page mindlessly, then another and another. ''He goes to Memorial Middle School. I go to Lincoln High. You,'' she jabs a finger in Ruby's direction. ''Used to work there as a history teacher 'cause there's nobody better to teach history than someone who is older than most of the history books but you quit because you realized that you hate teenagers so now you work with Dad at his garage. He won't let you touch the cars though. I'm telling you these things,'' Bray leans across the counter. ''Because you need to know enough so that if you come into contact with people while you're here, you won't be thought of as crazy. Because people _already_ think you're crazy and it's _embarrassing._''

''Ruby,'' Dean turns wide, panicked eyes to her. ''We're embarrassing. I said I wasn't going to be embarrassing. I said I was going to be the cool dad.''

Bray snorts. ''Yeah, right. I-I mean, _yeah_. Right. You...You can be cool. Sometimes. Um, mostly when you're not threatening any boy who comes within three feet of me.''

Ruby reaches out to pat Dean's hand gently, and then abruptly claps her hand over his mouth when he tries to speak. ''What about you?'' She asks. ''You've told us all about Connor, but what about you? How's your life?''

''Well,'' Bray shrugs. ''My life's pretty normal. I'm seventeen, I got my driver's license last year and when I turned seventeen, Dad gave me his car. I don't play any sports because I think they're a waste of time, but I'm editor of my school's newspaper. Oh, I wear glasses sometimes. I got them when I was five so in a couple years when I start walking into things, don't assume I'm flighty like Mom and take me to the doctors, 'kay?''

Ruby blinks and looks at Dean slowly. ''...You think I'm flighty?''

''Hey,'' he shrugs and lifts his coffee mug to his lips. ''You married me.''

''You probably got me drunk.''

''Actually, when you two finally did get married, it was Mom who proposed,'' Bray says.

While Dean bursts into laughter, Ruby pales comically and twirls the ring on her finger. ''Shut up, Dean,'' she snaps.

''Right,'' he nods. ''Gotta keep the little missus happy.''

''And,'' Bray interjects, effectively saving her father from a probable beating. ''I have a boyfriend named Alex, who you do not want to murder and who has never_ ever _taken my shirt off. Because that would be wrong.''

''Just so you know,'' Connor pops up beside his sister, grinning from ear to ear. ''Those last two are dirty little lies. You,'' he points to Dean. ''Do, in fact, want to murder him. Mostly because her boyfriend has a motorcycle _and_ a leather jacket - ''

''I don't think I like the sound of that.''

'' - And he has totally had at least some under the bra action.''

''You two seem oddly prepared for something like this,'' Ruby intercepts before Dean has a chance to process the thought of some boy groping his daughter.

''Oh, you've been prepping us for this moment for years,'' Bray says plainly. ''You guys knew that the past yous would be sent here one day so the future yous wanted us to be ready for the day when our parents suddenly weren't _our _parents.''

''Don't think too much about it,'' Connor advises. ''It'll hurt your head.''

''I wouldn't worry,'' Bray says kindly. She closes the scrapbook and slides it across the counter into Ruby's capable hands. ''You two shouldn't be here very long. You always said you were here less than a day. Oh,'' her eyes widen. ''But actually there's - ''

The doorbell cuts her off, followed by a myriad of knocks that escalate into pounding.

''Yeah,'' Connor nods. ''That sounds about right. That'd be my reaction to the Blake-Winchester household too.''

''Okay, see,'' Bray races out from around the counter, trailing after her mother when Ruby goes to answer the door. ''That's Sam and you should know that he's from your time too. And he's probably really frightened right now.''

''As he should be,'' Connor says wisely.

Left alone with the son he doesn't know yet, Dean isn't exactly sure how to go about a conversation without it becoming very, very awkward. Luckily for him, Connor saves them from tense silence by sidling up next to him. ''By the way,'' he whispers conspiratorially, throwing a look over his shoulder. ''If you see, like, a giant spider...don't freak out. That's just my pet tarantula and he sorta got out again but I'll have him back in his cage in no time. Just don't tell Bray. She will _go hunting_.''

''Oh, I totally get it, Uncle Sam,'' Bray's voice echoes from the other room. Dean turns just in time to see Ruby and Bray leading a shell shocked Sam into the kitchen. ''Your house can be a tad alarming during the first visit,'' she soothes, patting him on the back. ''Here,'' she gently pushes him into the chair next to Dean and gives him a bright, sunny smile. ''Why don't you sit down and I'll make you some coffee?'' She turns to give both her father and her brother a warning look. ''Be nice.''

''Wow, there is a lot of your mother in you, huh?'' Dean holds his hands up in surrender when she glares at him and studies the older version of Sam closely, lips curving into a grin. ''Dude,'' he says. ''You got old.'' This, admittedly, is something of an untruth. In all honesty, Sam looks largely the same. The changes in his physical appearance are pretty minor. A few lines around his eyes and mouth, a five o'clock shadow, slightly shorter hair and he looks more clean cut than he's ever been.

''Oh, ages!'' Bray snaps her fingers. ''I haven't told you how old you are!''

''That's really okay,'' Ruby deadpans. ''Keep it to yourself.''

Bray shrugs, offers them a wicked smile that is clearly a Winchester trait and goes back to making coffee.

''Hey.'' Dean nudges his brother. ''My kids are awesome,'' he brags. ''How's your future?''

''Five of them, Dean,'' Sam hisses, leaning into his brother's personal bubble. ''There were _five _of them.'' In case Dean isn't getting it, Sam holds up five fingers. ''Five kids.''

''You have _five _kids?'' Dean laughs and sends a look at Ruby. ''And you think I can't keep it in my pants?''

''And they all appear to be insane,'' Sam adds. ''Two of them were walking around with helmets on. In the house.''

''Your house can get all kinds of wild,'' Connor nods in agreement. ''Especially the boys. So you make them wear helmets. It's so awesome.''

''And there's dogs,'' Sam goes on. ''And one of the little kids was sleeping in the dog's bed.''

''That's Paige,'' Bray says, handing him a cup of coffee. ''She's two. She currently thinks she's a dog. Take that with a grain of salt. Next week she'll go back to thinking she's a fairy.''

''I don't even know their names,'' Sam groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.

''Thing 1, Thing 2, Dumb and Dumber and Tinkerbell,'' Connor informs him with a smirk.

''Nick, Carrie, Johnny, Eli and Paige,'' Bray lists off helpfully. ''And the dogs are Dizzy and Kent. Kent after Clark Kent.''

''...Dizzy?''

''There's a story.''

Dean lets out a contented sigh, looking Sam up and down. ''You're going to be an odd dad, aren't you?''

''Nothing brings out your inner wacko like parenthood,'' Ruby says sagely.

''Nothing brings out the inner wacko in Sam like Aunt Sarah,'' Bray corrects. ''You two are the strangest couple I know. You _aim _to be the super embarrassing parents.''

''Oh, hey!'' Dean beams, leaning across the counter to stare at his now all grown up daughter. ''Are we more or less embarrassing then Sam and Sarah? We're less, right? We gotta be less embarrassing than the dizzy dummies over there.''

Bray grimaces and sends a pleading look at her mother. ''Mom, please don't make me answer that question.''

Connor places a hand on his father's shoulder. ''Maybe,'' he says seriously, ''this whole cool thing would work out better for you if you didn't try so hard.''

Dean sighs wistfully. ''I remember a time when I didn't even have to try to be cool.''

''Really?'' Ruby sips at her coffee. ''I don't.''

* * *

><p>But the future, you see, is only the beginning.<p>

After Bray and Connor leave for school, giving their parents and uncle specific instructions to lay low for the rest of their Back to the Future moment until they go back to their time, Dean, Ruby and Sam learn that this particular Trickster is going for broke in the whole sending them to places they should never set foot in department. The future is, apparently, only stop one. How do they learn this exactly? Well, they go through a door.

...No, seriously. That's what happens.

The scrapbook of future knowledge Bray leaves them with tells them that Bobby is still puttering around in his salvage yard and if anyone can help, it's Bobby. The only problem is that the front door does not at all lead to the glorious sunshine. Instead it picks them apart, rudely separates them and tosses them head first into worlds they never should have been a part of.

Welcome to the jungle.

**end part one**


	2. Part Two: Dean

_AN: Happy Easter Sunday, friends! Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. Other chapters will be longer. Dean's first alternate universe is just a brief drop in visit, I guess. Chapter title from ''The Way You Look Tonight.''_

_Chapter Warnings: I don't think there's anything major in this chapter that needs to be warned for other than mentions of past character death._

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

><p><strong>Take Me Home<strong>

_Written by Becks Rylynn_

* * *

><p><strong>Part Two<strong>

**Dean**

_yes, you're lovely_

* * *

><p>Dean is still bursting with pride over the peaceful state of the future and his children. The future's great! The world's still turning, everybody's alive, Ruby<em> finally <em>got over her irrational fear of marriage, and his kids are awesome. Seriously. His daughter is bright and beautiful and his son is the coolest kid in the world...and everything still revolves around Ruby. So excuse him if he's not at his sharpest. His head's still a little spinny.

As soon as he steps through the door, he finds himself in a strange motel room, all alone, and he's embarrassed to admit that it takes him a second longer than it should for him to realize what has just happened.

On the plus side, he's young again and he doesn't have to avoid mirrors so yay! for that.

''You have got to be kidding me,'' he grumbles.

Come on. He just wants to go home to his kid, all right? It was nice to see the future, but he wants to go home to his three year old daughter who is still sweet and innocent and there are no boys getting under the bra action. Dean sighs heavily and looks around the ugly motel room for clues as to what world he could possibly be in now. Really, what is this? A world where he's a motel manager? A world without shrimp? (Yeah, okay, so he's watched_ Buffy: The Vampire Slayer _a few times. It's not like he's a fanboy or anything.) He plucks a half eaten piece of pizza off the table with a wince. A world without garbage cans perhaps? ...Whoa, he sounds like a dad, doesn't he?

The door creaks open behind him and he whirls around, watching as Sam enters the room with a tired sounding sigh. ''Sam!''

Sam looks up sharply, lips parting in surprise at the enthusiastic greeting. ''Uh...hey, Dean. That was an incredibly overenthusiastic greeting.''

''Where's Ruby? Is she with you?''

Sam's face crinkles in confusion. ''That's a...random question. Why would _Ruby_ be with me? Are you insinuating something? Was that a dig at past events? 'Cause if it was, it was mean.''

Ah, okay. Not his Sam then. Good to know.

Dean deflates, shaking his head and turning away from Bizarro Sam. ''Nevermind.'' He slumps into a chair, rubbing his forehead tiredly. ''So I guess that means there's no Lila Bray here, huh?'' There's an unpleasant pinching in his chest when he says that. He doesn't enjoy it.

''What's a - ''

''Who.''

''Huh?''

''Who. Not a what.''

''O-_kay._'' Sam shrugs off his jacket. ''So, _who_ is she? Some girl you - ''

''For the love of god, don't finish that sentence! Don't even think it! That is so wrong!''

''Okay, geez,'' Sam frowns in confusion as he sweeps some of the trash that has accumulated on the table into the garbage can. All right, so put a strike through the world without garbage cans idea. Thank God for that. ''What's with you tonight?''

''Nothing,'' Dean shrugs. He taps his fingers on the arm rest of the chair, looking around the room lazily. He's assuming he will be pulled out of here eventually. There seems to be some sort of string of events going on here. That stupid Trickster seems to be chucking them into waves of alternate realities to amuse himself so Dean has pretty much decided to just roll with it for now and when he gets home, he will tear the Trickster limb from limb for kicks. ''So,'' his lips quirk into a smile. ''What's goin' on, Sammy? Hmm? What's the haps here? Anything special? What's so different about this place?''

''Ah,'' Sam chuckles, crumpling up a styrofoam cup and tossing it into the trash. ''And suddenly it all makes sense. You're drunk.'' When he lifts his hand to point an accusing finger at Dean, something catches in the light.

Dean leans forwards to gape at the wedding ring on Sam's finger. He looks down at his own bare ring finger and deflates, letting out a breath and sitting back. ''Be so much easier if I was. Listen, man,'' he pushes himself to his feet and decides _eh, what the hell? Might as well tell him._ ''I gotta tell you something and I don't think you're gonna believe it but I just need you to trust me on this one.''

''Boys!'' The door opens and a familiar light and_ beautiful _voice floats through the air. ''I come bearing Chinese food. I know you two would prefer burgers but in my opinion, you two need to broaden your hori - why does it look like a pig sty in here? Honestly, you're grown men, I shouldn't still have to pick up after you.''

There's a ringing in his ears and his skin hums in disbelief. He tries to draw in a breath but the air won't reach his lungs. It only takes Dean about five seconds to go from mildly aggravated to homicidal. Sending them to the future was one thing. _This_...This is going way too far. This is just cruel and unusual torture because...because now he won't want to leave. He turns around slowly, heart beating in his throat. Yes, she is just as pretty as he remembers. He tries to drink in the sight of her for as long as he can, taking a step towards her. ''...Mom?''

''Dean.'' Her voice softens and takes on a familiar worried tone as she puts down the bag of food and rushes towards him. The crinkle of her eyes, the way her lips turn downwards into a concerned frown, the way she walks, effortlessly graceful...these are the things he folds up and puts away in that box in his mind labeled _Mommy._ ''Sweetie, what's wrong?'' She asks gently. ''You look like you've seen a ghost.''

''Or something that would actually be alarming to us,'' Sam can't help but add on dryly.

Mom (_ohgodmom)_ places a hand on Dean's cheek and he sucks in a breath. His heart thuds against his ribcage and he has to swallow the lump in his throat just to be able to breathe. He has forgotten how warm her touch feels. Unable to restrain himself any longer, and really it's a wonder he made it this far, he goes forwards and envelopes his mother in a tight hug, squeezing his eyes shut.

''Dean,'' she breathes out, sounding like she has moved past worried and concerned and straight into panic. ''Baby, what's - ''

''Nothing,'' he chokes out into her hair. ''...It's just really good to see you.''

* * *

><p>Here are the things he has learned about this reality:<p>

_John_ Winchester died on the ceiling in '83 and _Mary_ Winchester became a living legend.

Holy shit, right?

After her husband's death, she sought help from an old friend who had helped her out when she was hunting with her mother and father. Her old friend's name? Bill Harvelle, of course. Her sons were raised at the Roadhouse with Bill's daughter, Jo. Eventually, that led to a high school sweetheart type relationship between Sam and Jo, which culminated in a marriage and recently, a baby boy. ...Dean can buy Mom being best pals with Bill, and he has always thought she would have gotten along with Ellen. But the Sam and Jo part? That he did not see coming. But then he thinks about it and decides maybe it's not as weird as it sounds.

And since Sam at least appeared to recognize Ruby's name, he takes comfort in the fact that she still exists in this universe. (Yeah, hang onto that feeling.)

All in all, this life is extraordinarily different but somehow the same. They're still hunters, they still averted the apocalypse and everything, and Sam's haircut still makes him look like the Wolfman. Heh.

Dean could fall head over heels with this life. He could stay here forever.

But.

Given the choice between a kinda really awesome world with his mom and a world that makes him feel old beyond his years but has his daughter in it? He'd choose his daughter. He'd choose his daughter every time.

Oh, and also? There is one more major downside to this life that he learns about when he can't help but ask, ''So, uh, where is Ruby in this world?''

Sam and Mom look at each other, sigh, and then Sam says, somewhat reluctantly, ''Probably with her husband.''

...Okay, that's it! He's done! He wants to go _home._

* * *

><p>From what he understands, Ruby is a still demon who still helped them out during the war. But then she left hunting behind after the war was over in favor of a normal life and now she's a newlywed, married to some rich dude over in Virginia.<p>

No offense or anything but since she never had Lila Bray and she never grew into the humanity Hell couldn't burn away, Dean's going to go ahead and assume her marriage is about the money. Mostly because it makes him feel better. But also because - hello! What happened to her fear of marriage? No fear of marriage when you're with the rich guy, huh, Rubes? God!

But here's the real kicker. According to Mom, this version of him and Ruby did flirt but they never acted on it because she was waiting for him to make a move and he was waiting for her a make a move and the timing got all screwed up and they lost their chance. So basically, this version of him could have fucking had it all if only he had pulled his head out of his ass but he didn't and now Ruby's _married._

Awesome.

Whatever.

Dean has decided not to think about it.

* * *

><p>Mom seems to have no trouble grasping the fact that he is not their Dean and is actually from whole other universe. She believes him instantly. Well, either that or she's humoring him. It could be either one, really. It's Sam who has major issues believing Dean's story.<p>

''Are we sure he's not delusional?'' He asks, looking at Dean warily. ''What if a demon has done something to him and it's making him crazy? It could happen.''

''Like in that episode of Buffy?'' Dean can't help but ask. Christ, what is with him and Buffy? He doesn't need a Buffy. He's got a Ruby. In his head, he can hear Ruby laughing at him and calling him a Wheadonite. It's oddly comforting.

''Sam,'' Mom admonishes. ''You know firsthand how grating these Tricksters can be.'' To Dean, she says, ''Don't worry, honey. We'll get you back home.''

His throat constricts and his stomach clenches when she smiles and puts her hand over his. He doesn't know how he manages to stop himself from asking if he can take her with him.

* * *

><p>In this world, Sam is the one with a family, happily married to Jo with a new baby boy named John, after their father, who he won't stop bragging about. (Dean gets that.) And also, BTW, apparently this version of Ruby caused some friction between Sam and Jo a few years back so Sam has a very difficult time believing that Dean and Ruby have a child together and have a whole bunch of sex. (All right, so Dean doesn't share that last part out loud.) To be perfectly honest, it's not hard to believe Ruby caused trouble with Jo because...well, Ruby never liked Jo.<p>

Probably because they were very close to being the same person and Ruby has jealousy issues. Just don't tell Ruby that 'cause she will gut you like a fish. But seriously, at one point before Carthage and all of the bad things Dean tries to pretend never happened, the sibling-esque bickering matches between Ruby and Jo got so bad that Ellen deemed them Worse Than Sam and Dean and threatened to ground them. They actually fought over the bathroom in the mornings. What was that about? What grown adult did that? It was like watching an Olsen twins movie.

Mom's reaction to the news that Dean and Ruby are happily unmarried (one of these days, he _will _marry her. It's on his Bucket List) with a little girl? She just says she wishes she could see pictures. He does too. He carries about a million pictures of his daughter in his wallet in the normal world. Don't make fun of him for that. Ruby already does. But do you know what this Dean carries around in his wallet? Condoms. Feel free to make fun of him for that. Dean already wants to bitch slap this him.

So he settles for talking about Bray, describing her in great detail right down to the way she laughs. Mom positively beams when he talks about her. ''I'm sure she's beautiful,'' she says with a small, happy sounding sigh.

He's so busy trying to imprint the image of her smile into his mind that he almost forgets to talk. ''Yeah, she is,'' he clears his throat. ''She gets that from her mother.''

''I'll bet you're a wonderful father,'' she says softly, eyes twinkling.

He smiles, feeling slightly bashful at his mother's praise. In the back of his head, there's a part of him that's thinking he wants to stay. Sam is happy here. Sam is so happy with his wife and his son, not bogged down by so much heartache and loss. Mom's alive, Ellen and Jo are alive, he's alive. And he could woo Ruby away from Daddy Warbucks. He has full confidence in his wooing abilities. He could make her fall in love with him, they could have Bray. ...And he could have a mom. He could finally have the one thing he never dared to wish for because he always knew it wouldn't come true. He could have it all here.

But it would never be real.

The life he lives in is cold and cruel and often times it deals him a mother of a bad hand. But it's the life he's_ built. _Brick by brick with his own two hands, he built that life. He's _proud_ of his life right now. He's proud of his daughter and Ruby and Sam and Bobby. He doesn't belong here. He could never belong here.

''So in this other timeline,'' Mom says, hands wrapped around her mug of tea. ''Do I spoil her rotten?''

Well, that question stings more than he thought it would. ''Um...yeah. Yes. You do.'' Dean manages a shaky smile and can't look her in the eye. ''You're...You're a great grandmother.'' It's not really a lie, is it? Don't tell him it's a lie. If she had had the chance, she would have been a great grandmother. She would have been the world's greatest grandma. And technically speaking, this version of her is a grandma and she seems like she's pretty good at it.

''Dean,'' her voice grows hesitant and when he looks back up at her, she's biting her lip and looking nervous. ''In your world... Is he alive? Your father, I mean. Is he alive?''

''...No,'' he answers regretfully, staring down into his own mug of coffee that his mother had carefully made him. Even coffee tastes better when your mother makes it for you. ''He's not. I'm sorry.''

Her shoulders sag and suddenly there are shadows dancing in her eyes and she looks so tired. He knows that look. He recognizes that look. That was the look Dad used to wear every single day. Mom and Dad's marriage wasn't perfect until after she was dead because after she was gone, Dad wove fairytales out of his memories because he felt guilty. But they did love each other. Any idiot with eyes could've seen that. ''Then what's so different about our worlds?'' She asks with a sigh. ''Other than Ruby and your daughter...What's changed? What's the difference?''

And he can't bear to tell her the truth so he rises to his feet, moves around the table and drops a kiss to her forehead instead. ''Nothing important, Mom,'' he whispers.

''I don't think it's fair,'' she declares. ''Why couldn't we all be happy?'' She questions, voice catching. ''Would it be so bad if we all got what we wanted in one world? Why can't that happen?''

He opens his mouth to answer and then all too quickly realizes that there is no answer to that question. ''I don't know,'' he says tiredly, wry smirk stretching on his lips. ''But it sure would be nice, wouldn't it?''

She smiles up at him sadly, he smiles back, and then the world shifts.

The room lurches dramatically, her face blurs and melts away before his eyes, everything twists crudely and he can't find anything to hang onto.

**end part two**


	3. Part Three: Ruby

_AN: And here we are! Part three! The chapter that will take you from the lightheartedness of the first chapter and the brief sadness of the second chapter and BUM YOU OUT HARD. I apologize in advance for the extreme angst. Chapter title from ''Hallelujah'' by Jeff Buckley._

_Chapter warnings: This is a dark, dark chapter, people. It's got infant death, implied suicide, mentions of substance abuse and self-harm, prescription drug use, violence, uncomfortable imagery, and just basically all around AU angst. Do not take these warnings lightly, guys. This is not a happy alternate universe Ruby has been thrown into._

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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><p><strong>Take Me Home<strong>

_Written by Becks Rylynn_

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><p><strong>Part Three<strong>

**Ruby**

_she broke your throne and she cut your hair_

* * *

><p>Ruby walks through the door and ends up in a dingy looking apartment.<p>

Sucks for her.

Daylight streams in through the holes in the ratty curtains, sirens echo in the distance and water drips somewhere far away. She curls her lips in disgust at the filth and turns to check for Dean and Sam. She catches sight of herself in the bathroom mirror instead and horror builds up in her throat, resulting in a revolted shriek escaping her lips. She jumps back in surprise, hands flying to her hair, which is now just below her shoulders. ''My hair! What has that little bastard done to my beautiful hair?''

Then she pauses, takes a step back, realizes what she has just said and shakes her head. That was a little too vain for her. Perhaps she's been spending too much time with Dean. She doesn't have a whole lot of time to think this over because that would be when a brave little rat scurries past her feet and she loses her shit. What? Everybody's allowed to be afraid of something.

She screeches wildly and leaps onto a nearby table, heart beating erratically in her chest. ''What is wrong with this version of me?'' She spits out. ''What's my damage? Don't I realize that rats can be carriers for the _bubonic plague? _Haven't I learned that yet? Don't associate with rats! That's one of my top five rules!'' She shudders and wonders, idly, if rats can claw their way up table legs.

When she decides that, unfortunately, she cannot stay on this wobbly table all day, she presses her lips together and shakes her head. ''I,'' she announces to the empty room, ''am going to shove a wooden stake right up that Trickster's ass.'' She takes one more look around the sparsely furnished apartment, fingers her shorter hair with dismay and then quickly decides, ''Fuck this shit, I'm goin' to Bobby's.''

So here's hoping Bobby knows who she is.

* * *

><p>He does. Sort of. She thinks.<p>

Well, it's all very confusing here, isn't it?

When Bobby sees her standing on the other side of his door, his eyes get all sad and sympathetic and he actually _takes his baseball cap off_. That means there is some seriously serious shit going on in this world. ''Ruby,'' he says her name extremely carefully in the softest voice she has ever heard. ''I wasn't expecting to see you...today.'' And then he hugs her, which is just - I mean, Bobby likes her just fine in the real world. He appears to be fond of her and he absolutely adores Bray. He's just not a hugger.

She counts twice. He has hugged her exactly two times. The first hug was when he visited her in the hospital after she gave birth to Bray and the second was right after the war ended. He has hugged her twice, and that is almost one time too many. So this is strange. It's also strange that he looks so sad.

This cannot be good.

She is getting really bad vibes from this place. There is something dangerously off balance. There's something terribly wrong. An awful sinking feeling in her gut is telling her that someone who should be here is not and she'd really, really like to get out of here before she learns just who is missing.

See, for the longest time, she had petrifying nightmares about a world without Dean. A world where he never came back from Hell or a world where the hellhounds came and took him away from her again. Terrible, horrible worlds where he never got to meet his daughter and Ruby had to do it all alone. Dreams are bad enough. She doesn't want to live that life.

''Uh, Bobby,'' she pulls away from him with a half hearted smile. ''I kinda need to tell you something.''

''...Did you fall off the wagon again?'' He asks with a tired sounding sigh.

She blinks. ''What wagon? There's a wagon? I'm on a wagon? Is it a metaphorical wagon? Am I an alky? You know, I've never understood the wagon analogy. Did drunk people fall off of a lot of wagons and it caught on?''

''Is that a yes then?''

''No, look, let's just forget about wagons, okay?''

''...Okay.''

She lets out a nervous little laugh and runs her hand through her new short hair that she just can't get used to. ''What I'm about to say is going to sound crazy,'' she tells him quietly. ''But I swear it's the - ''

''Ruby?''

She whirls around to face Sam, raising an eyebrow when he sees the way he's looking at her with wide, shocked eyes as if he can't decide whether or not she's real. Why does everyone keep looking at her like that? It must be the hair. It's upsetting. It irks her too. ''Oh,'' she pauses and looks back at Bobby briefly. ''...Hey, Sam.''

''You're here,'' he states bluntly.

''I am.''

''Today.''

''I...yes?''

Sam snaps into action, clearing his throat and moving to kiss her cheek somewhat awkwardly. ''Well, uh, it's good to see you. I just didn't think - ''

''That you'd be seeing me today. Yeah, people keep saying that.'' Know what? Fuck it. She's done with playing along. There are too many rules to this game. She'd prefer to cheat. The list of things that are wrong with this place is endless. Her hair is all messed up, that feeling in her gut is getting stronger, she feels a headache coming on, Sam and Bobby are treating her like she's made out of glass and she still hasn't seen Dean or Bray and that's_ worrying._ ''All right, so I'm just gonna lay all my cards out on the table. Bottom line here is that I'm not who you think I am. This isn't my world. In my world, Dean and I are together, as crazy as that may sound to you people, we have a three year old daughter and you,'' she jabs a finger in Sam's direction, ''have longer hair. Right now an asinine Trickster is messing with us in what I can only assume is an attempt to move up on the success ladder. First the little nutjob sent us to the future and now I'm here and I really need to find _my_ Dean and _my_ Sam. I'm not drunk, I'm not high and I'm not having some sort of breakdown. This is the truth. You believe me or not?''

She looks back and forth between Bobby and Sam, waiting for them to offer her a sedative or something. Neither one of them even move. Sam's eyes are watery looking and Bobby's taking off his hat again and none of this is a good sign. Even if they do think she's cuckoo for cocoa puffs, they don't say anything. Judging by the looks on their faces something she said has assaulted both men like physical blows.

''Bray?'' Sam gets out, voice cracking and breaking. Oh no. No, no, no. Not her. ''She's...'' His lips curve into a wobbly little smile. ''She's...there? Is she happy? Is she healthy? What's she like? Is she pretty? I'll bet she's pretty. She was such a beautiful baby.''

''Sam,'' Bobby says softly.

Ruby's heart drops to her stomach. Her breathing speeds up and she can't stop her hands from shaking. Anyone but her. Any world but this one. _It's a fake world_, she tells herself. It's not real. _Bray is safe and happy with Bobby right now._

Bobby keeps a picture of Bray on top of a book on his desk. It's from her first birthday. Her face is smeared with cake and she's smiling a blinding version of her father's smile. It's a beautiful picture of a beautiful little girl. Ruby turns to look at the picture.

It's not there.

* * *

><p><em>This is a story you were never meant to hear.<em>

That's what Sam tells her. She tries to hold onto that. It's a story. A fable, a legend, a lie. It's a horror story to tell around the campfire, a nightmare she can wake up from, its fiction. But that's all it is. None if it is real. It's just a story. It's not important. But here it is anyway:

According to the story, it goes like this:

Bray was born a healthy and gorgeous baby girl. She had her mother's eyes, her father's smile and she was the center of everyone's universe. The sun and the moon rose for her. The stars in the sky shone for her. She was the reason her family kept fighting the good fight. She was that element of hope they _needed._

And then one night in late April, her daddy came into her room to check on her and she was cold and blue. Just like that. No explanation, no warning, and no goodbyes. She was just gone. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Statistics say two hundred and twenty babies die of SIDS each month. In this world, Bray was one of those babies.

Her death was the catalyst, Sam tells her, for a lot of things. She and Dean couldn't make it work, she quit hunting (and evidently cut her hair) and that was just it for Dean. Losing his daughter was the final straw. He just gave up on everything. Hunting, the war, Ruby, Sam, Bobby,_ life._ He's still alive. Sam makes sure to tell her he's still alive.

He's just not Dean anymore.

She can successfully convince herself ten times over that this world isn't real. She can close her eyes, see Bray and know that's what she has to go home to. Just this morning, before the Trickster and the future and _this_, she was standing on Bobby's porch watching her little girl giggle and jump through puddles with the dad who worshiped her. That is what's _real. _This is not. This is just a fabricated world created by a coward to torture her.

However, with that said, this world has a Dean who needs to be fixed. And one thing she has never been able to do is shake her compulsive need to fix those Winchester men.

Quite telling, don't you think? It's an entirely different world and yet for her everything still comes down to Dean Winchester.

She supposes that is simply destiny.

* * *

><p>She finds Dean in a bar about a block and a half away from the shithole where he supposedly lives. To be brutally honest, she doesn't know how she manages to recognize him. Clean clothes, shaving and basic personal hygiene appear to be among the list of things he has given up on. But above all else, he just looks old. Way older than he should. Come to think of it, she does too. She's looked in a mirror. This world's Ruby is worn out looking, much too skinny and there are fine lines on her face that shouldn't be there. This world's Dean and Ruby look older than future Dean and Ruby.<p>

Lesson: Loss is bad. It eats away at you. It gets under your skin. Turns your hair gray. (During the year Sam was gone, Dean found his first gray hair at age thirty two. He had a panic attack and had to breathe into a paper bag. It was bad.) Loss is something powerful and hideous. But she's betting there's also some hardcore substance abuse going on here. Combine those two things together and you've got a lethal combination designed to leave someone rode hard and put away wet.

Then again, she could be wrong. Maybe it's just loss that aged them prematurely. She doesn't know what it's like to lose a child. Her child is happy and healthy. Losing your brother is one thing. Losing your child...

Dean is leaning back against the bar without a drink in sight, looking thoughtfully at something across the bar. She can practically see the wheels in his head turning. Just as she's weaving her way through the throngs of rowdy bar patrons, Dean makes his move. He casually pushes off the bar, calmly makes his way to the biggest, baddest biker dude in the joint and punches him in the nose for absolutely no reason at all.

A gasp bubbles up in her throat and she races forwards. Just as the big guy raises his fist, she reaches them. Her fingers wrap around Dean's wrist and she shoves him away, putting herself right in the line of fire. ''Whoa, hey!'' She holds her hand up. ''Let's think about this for a second.''

Big guy lowers his fist slightly, face red, chest heaving. Her presence affects him for exactly three and a half seconds and then he's snarling out a, ''Get outta my way, Blondie.''

''Yeah,'' Dean grins widely, grasping her elbow. ''Fuck off, Ruby. And you,'' he reaches past her to poke the biker in the chest. ''You better get this fucking right. You do this correctly and you can actually shove my nose right into my brain. Instant death. So you make this one count, okay, tubbers?''

Ruby turns to throw Dean a horrified look. Harley Davidson decides to take this opportunity to yank her towards him roughly. Regardless of his personality face lift, Dean's first instinct is still to grab her and swing her out of harm's way. So that's nice. Except that this time she swings right back because she is just so very sick of everything this universe entails. ''Hey,'' she snaps out, shoving a finger in the biker's face. ''You really wanna hit me? I'm a twig. I weigh like two pounds. And I have a totally non threatening haircut. And this guy?'' She jerks a thumb in Dean's direction. ''Is obviously unstable and massively suicidal. Do you really want to play Kevorkian? Dude, look at us. We're physically and mentally unhealthy. I'm on some sort of wagon and he just told you he wanted you to shove his nose into his brain. Aside from that being one of the dumbest things I've ever heard, it's also assisted suicide. You could go to jail for that, Harley. You still wanna hit us? Go ahead. Pick on the weak ones. Prove what a big man you are. Also,'' she grins and leans closer to him. ''I'm a woman. Despite this bar's questionable clientele, there's got to be at least one person in here who'd shoot you in the foot for hitting a chick.''

As predicted, after a moment of blinking and grumbling under his breath, he turns and slinks away in defeat. Triumphantly, she turns back around to face Dean. By the way he's looking at her in disgust, eyes narrowed in frustration she's guessing he does not feel as victorious. She reaches out, getting ready to make her case and plead for him to talk to her but he won't let her. With a scoff and a shake of his head, he spins on his heel and stalks away from her.

''Dean!'' She rushes after him, pushing out the door and into the chilly night air seconds after him.

She isn't expecting what transpires next. She doesn't see it coming. How could she? He's Dean, she's Ruby. He'd never do anything to hurt her. In her world, they have a charmed life (as she's beginning to realize.)

Yes, precisely.

In _her_ world.

But this isn't her world. This world goes by an entirely different set of rules. She learns that when she grabs his arm and he responds by twisting free and backhanding her across the face. It stings more than it should. She can't tell if it's an accident or not because the momentary flash of overwhelming guilt and shock in his eyes at his actions is gone within a second, replaced by anger and frustration alike. ''That,'' she says, cutting him off when he opens his mouth to speak. ''Is _never okay, _Dean.''

''You appealed to his conscience?'' He hisses out through clenched teeth, voice dropping with venom that makes her shiver. He startles her by grasping her upper arms tightly and pulling her to him. She flinches unwillingly. ''Goddamn it,'' he breathes out. ''Can't you just let me die in peace?'' His voice changes from harsh to lost just like that and his angry eyes deflate.

She wrenches free of his grip, smacking away his arms and pushing herself away from him. She doesn't like this Dean. He's erratic and broken and she doesn't know how to fix him. That bothers her. ''That was peaceful?'' She retorts. ''That was your peaceful way of dying?''

''Get out of here,'' he begs, voice tight. ''Before I hurt you.''

''I can't leave you,'' she whispers. ''You'll do something stupid.''

He chuckles dryly, flicking his eyes upwards at the stars briefly. ''You ever think maybe this is the way it has to be?''

''It doesn't _have_ to be like this,'' she protests quietly. ''You're just drunk.''

''No, I'm not,'' he kicks at a rock on the ground. ''I'm not supposed to mix alcohol with these new anti-depressants.'' He looks up at her with a grim smile. In the glow of the streetlight, he looks like a mad man. ''I'd get plastered and overdose but it wouldn't hurt enough,'' he says hollowly. ''It has to hurt.''

She tries to swallow the lump in her throat but it won't go down. ''Dean,'' she says. There's supposed to be more to that sentence but she can't remember what she meant to say. What would take it away? I'm sorry? Sorrys don't mean jack. She knows that from experience.

''Why do you even care anymore?'' He asks bitterly. ''You've barely said a word to me in over a year. Why would you suddenly start caring now?''

She looks down at the ground, arms wrapped around her middle. It's ridiculous to feel guilty for something another version of her has done, right? ''I needed to see you,'' she answers honestly.

''Really? Why? Because today's the anniversary of her death? Because you wanted to make sure I was okay?'' He snorts. ''Like I believe that. You don't give a damn about me, Ruby. Not anymore.''

''If I didn't give a damn about you,'' she says hotly. ''I would've let that guy beat you to death.''

''Well, you should have!'' He shouts, advancing on her. He actually looks a little disappointed when she doesn't leap away from him in fear. ''That's what I wanted! Don't you think...Don't you think it's a little selfish to keep me here when I don't want to be here? Ruby, I'm tired and I want to go. Can't you just let me go?''

''No. Never.''

He sighs. ''It doesn't get better, all right? Nothing gets better. It doesn't go away. I wasn't even a father for a year, but...but that's all I know how to be. ...Back then...I had a place. I was a father,'' his voice cracks, ''and I was a brother and I was a hunter. I was needed. Those were the only things I knew - Those are the only things I know how to be. But now the war's over, Sam's grown and Lila Bray is gone. So what's left? Hmm? Tell me what's left, Ruby. Give me a reason to stay.''

''Well,'' she blinks furiously and tries to gather herself together. Truth be told, there was a time when Dean was horribly broken and emotionally disfigured. It wasn't that long ago. She remembers it much too vividly for her taste. He was mess during the war and he was a shell after Sam died. But he always had someone to fall back on. He could always look at his daughter and keep going. This Dean just seems so terribly, utterly, completely...alone. And that is one of the saddest things she has ever seen. ''There's me.'' She takes one cautious step towards him, and then another. ''You have me.'' For a second, just a second, there's a flicker of the Dean she loves in his heartbroken eyes. But it's just for a second and a second is never enough.

When she bravely reaches out to touch his cheek, he catches her wrist and his lips thin. ''Ruby,'' he spits out her name like it's something revolting. ''When she died, I put a gun in my mouth - '' she flinches at the unashamed, blunt, matter-of-fact tone of his voice '' - and I would have pulled the trigger if my dumbass brother hadn't tackled me. This is what happened. This is what I became when she died. ...And you just cut your hair. Trust me,_ babe_,'' he sneers and squeezes her wrist tightly until she grimaces. ''I don't want you.''

Well, _ow._

''People grieve in different ways,'' she informs him plainly. ''Ever think of that?''

''Then let me grieve,'' he pleads. ''Let me go with her.''

She shudders unnoticeably at the haunted look in his eyes, and she tries to hold onto him but she can't quite keep him from slipping through her grasp. He steps away from her and looks up at the stars once more with a tight smile ripe with promises she wishes he wouldn't keep.

(She remembers that when Bray was a baby, she used to love looking at the stars, reaching out a pudgy little hand like she wanted to grab one and keep it forever. That's probably one of the only memories this Dean will ever have of their daughter.)

''If I had checked on her earlier,'' he says in a whisper. ''If I had just checked on her...she could...she could...'' He trails off and shakes his head, lowering his shining eyes to the ground. ''Just stay away from me,'' he orders lowly. ''Just go home. I'm not your problem anymore.'' He sends her one last empty eyed look and then turns to leave.

She moves to go after him, but a sudden hand on her shoulder prevents her from taking a step. She whirls around to face what is probably a drunken man who wants to hit on her only to find herself staring into very familiar blue eyes. And suddenly she's not standing in a parking lot anymore and instead she's standing in a wide empty field, breath hanging in the air, stars twinkling above her head.

Castiel stands in front of her, lips curved into an aggravated frown as he scans the trees that edge around the clearing. ''Hello, Ruby,'' he greets with a nod.

She swallows down the cries that have been rising in her throat and tries to tell herself, once again, that nothing here is real. ''Get me out of here,'' she demands, grabbing his coat roughly when he dares to turn his eyes away from her briefly. ''Get me out of here right now.''

He looks at her fingers grasping his jacket, looking entirely unimpressed with her. ''I'm working on it.''

''That's not good enough! Just get me out!''

''It's not that simple,'' he snaps out impatiently, swatting her hands away. ''Every time I try to pull you out, something happens.''

''Something,'' she echoes. ''Something...like what? What happens?''

Naturally, the answer to her question must come in the most dramatic way possible. The ground underneath her feet opens up like the mouth of a frightening beast, swallowing her whole. Castiel makes a grab for her and misses by about an inch.

Much like Alice, she falls right into the looking glass, and sometime while she's falling, she decides it would be wise not to ask anymore stupid questions.

**end part three**

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><p><strong>Up Next:<strong>

_Sam finds himself in an alternate universe with Jensen Ackles, Katie Cassidy...and Dianna Agron._


End file.
